


The Secret Life of Pandas

by thoroughlynerdy



Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: Community: rainbowfilling, Friendship, Gen, Pandas, figurines
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-07-26
Updated: 2011-07-26
Packaged: 2017-10-26 01:14:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/276930
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thoroughlynerdy/pseuds/thoroughlynerdy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Aiba loves buying presents.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Secret Life of Pandas

“I’m Baaaaack!” Aiba called out excitedly as he came through the door of the greenroom, an assortment of items balanced precariously in his arms.

“Oh, welcome back!” Sho called from one of the couches, smiling brightly at the animated face of his friend, “How was the shoot?”

“It was so cool! They even let me play with the baby pandas! They were so cute!” Aiba relayed as he began distributing the gifts to their intended recipients. “Mm, Nino, are you leveling or in a boss fight?” he asked the younger man curiously, taking in his position on the couch opposite Sho: back leaning against the arm and his knees tucked in towards his chest, staring at the dual screens in his hands, thumbs working the buttons steadily.

“No, right now I’m just trying to alchemize some items so that I can finish this quest and get Sterling’s Whistle so I can summon the Starflight Express whenever I want it.” He replied casually, shifting slightly so that there was less pressure on his lower back.

“Good, close it for a minute, I have presents!” Aiba responded, leaning down and snapping the lid of Nino’s DS shut and simultaneously depositing a small figurine down on the coffee table in front of the couch.

Nino’s eyes, narrowed at Aiba’s actions, but his attention was soon drawn to the object placed before him, “What the hell is that?” he asked glancing down, lips curling and brows furrowing slightly in confusion and distaste.

“It’s a panda!” Aiba chirps with excitement, smiling wide and eyes crinkling a bit at the corners.

“Thank you,” he replied dryly, rolling his eyes, “I can tell that much, but…why?” he asked, now staring at the panda as if maybe it held the keys to the mystery and would offer some sort of explanation on Aiba’s behalf. The figurine sat silently, clutching a stalk of bamboo, messily painted black eyes staring back blankly.

“Well, in that one interview you admitted that you threw away the t-shirt I brought you back as a souvenir that one time, so this time I thought I would try something different! Aiba shrugged, smiling fondly at the figurine.

Nino’s eyebrows shot towards his hairline, “Seriously? I said I threw away a t-shirt, something that could actually be useful someday, and this” he gestured wildly towards the small sculpture, “was what you came up with?”

The snort of derision Nino added at the end of the statement cut through Aiba’s defenses like a machete and causing his smile to falter. He looked at his friend earnestly, mind churning in an effort to return to the mindset he had been in when he first saw the object, and the feelings it had generated. Standing in the small gift shop of the panda reserve, it had just seemed absolutely perfect.

“Well,” he began slowly, eyes settling back on the figurine and a small smile returning to grace his features once again at the recollection, “When I saw him, he was just so cute, and the way he’s holding onto the bamboo made me think of the way that you always snuggle with Leader.” Choosing his words carefully now, trying to make Nino see the gift the way it was meant to be interpreted, not as just some weird panda statue, he continued, “Plus, panda’s are kind a kind of misunderstood species. They’re often mistaken for bears, but they’re really marsupials. And even though they’re so cute, they can be super vicious when they feel threatened or if someone is threatening their family” he added, eyes moving from the panda to meet Nino’s. “It just reminded me of how you are with Arashi. So I guess it’s kind of like pandas have this secret life that no one really knows about. They seem really harmless, but if someone tries to hurt anyone they love, they’ll get really mean.” Aiba finished quietly, willing the other to understand.

Nino blinked at him, unsure of what to say now that he had unintentionally offended someone he cared about. He cleared his throat softly and Aiba glanced up at him, expression unreadable. “Well, if you put that much thought into it, I guess it’s okay then. Uh, thanks. Really.” He added lamely. His smirk returned a second later though as a new thought struck him, “Ah, Aiba-chan, you’ve made a mistake though.”

“Oh yeah? What’s that?” Aiba asked slightly concerned.

“The world already knows how adorable and mean I am.” He said easily, once again taking his game into hand and flipping the console back open.

That drew laughs from everyone in the room as the attention now slid from Nino to Ohno, who was holding what was possibly the worlds ugliest hat in his hands, “Ah, Aiba-chan, it’s awesome!” he said happily while Jun cringed at the accessory.

It was a dusty shade of red and from the back looked like an almost normal baseball cap. The front however, was where the offense began—instead of a logo, the hat boasted the front half of a fish coming out, almost equal to the length of the bill. The fish hung, mouth perpetually gaping at an invisible lure and Ohno couldn’t stop giggling as he put it on.

“Aiba-chan picks the best presents” Nino declared, clapping as Ohno flashed a “V” and posed for a photo.

Aiba smiled proudly, “Just wait until your birthday!” He told the younger boy with a grin, drawing a groan from him, which only caused Aiba to smile that much more.


End file.
